Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is due to arrive in France for a five-day official visit, his first since 1973.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has begun his first visit to France since 1973.
Colonel Gaddafi was invited after Libya released five Bulgarian nurses and a doctor who had been condemned to death, a case in which France mediated.
He will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and is expected to sign a series of trade and military deals worth billions of dollars.
The foreign medics were handed over to French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia earlier this year.
Col Gaddafi's five-day visit has drawn criticism from France's opposition socialists, as well as President Sarkozy's own human rights minister.
Since then, the two countries have been strengthening their bilateral ties with a number of economic deals.
He was invited after Libya released medics who had been condemned to death, a case in which France mediated.
Billion dollar contracts
The five Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor were accompanied home by Mr Sarkozy's ex-wife Cecilia in July.
The local state-run media in Tripoli has yet to comment on Colonel Gaddafi's trip, his first to France since the early days of his rule.
Since then, the two countries have strengthened economic ties, and are thought likely to sign further deals.
But the Libyan leader's son, Sayef al-Islam Gaddafi, told a French daily newspaper that his father's visit will pave the way for the signing of billions of dollars' worth of contracts.
Our country is not a doormat on which a leader can wipe off the blood of his crimes Rama YadeFrench human rights minister These are expected to include Libya's purchase of Airbus planes, as well as a contract for France to build a nuclear reactor for civil use in Libya.
These are expected to include the purchase of Airbus planes, as well as a deal to build a nuclear reactor for civil use in Libya.
Mr Gaddafi also said that negotiations are under way for the purchase of Rafale fighter jets.
Mr Gaddafi also said that negotiations are underway for the purchase of fighter jets from a French arms company.
A series of arms and civilian nuclear deals were signed during a trip President Sarkozy made to Libya five months ago.
A series of arms and civil nuclear development deals were signed during a trip President Sarkozy made to Libya five months ago.
The French oil company Total has significant investments in the oil-rich North African country.
The French oil company Total has significant investments in the oil-rich North African country.
Libya ended decades of isolation from the international community four years ago, when it willingly gave up its pursuit of nuclear arms and renounced terrorism.
Controversial
Libyan-French relations have overcome a few stumbling blocks in the past three decades, including the 1989 downing of a French UTA airliner over Niger.
However, the visit has been strongly criticised by the French opposition.
Socialist leader Francois Hollande said Mr Sarkozy had invited "a head of state who justifies international terrorism".
Mr Sarkozy's then-wife brought foreign medics back from Libya
Centrist politician Francois Bayrou said the visit was "shocking".
And Mr Sarkozy's junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, said: "Col Gaddafi must understand that our country is not a doormat on which a leader - whether terrorist or not - can wipe off the blood of his crimes."
Libya ended decades of international isolation four years ago, when it gave up its pursuit of nuclear arms and pledged to renounce terrorism.
Libyan-French relations have overcome a few stumbling blocks in the past three decades, including the 1989 downing of a French airliner over Niger.
Libya accepted responsibility for that bombing and offered a compensation deal to the victims of the crash.
Libya accepted responsibility for that bombing and offered a compensation deal to the victims of the crash.
As Libya reaps the benefits of a rapprochement with the West, a fitting description of this new chapter in Franco-Libyan relations seems to be the old saying: it's not personal, it's business.
Col Gaddafi will travel with an entourage of 400 officials and is due to stay in a Bedouin tent in the grounds of the presidential palace in central Paris.
What do you think of Colonel Gadaffi's visit? Are you in France or Libya? Please send us your comments by using the form below.
What do you think of Colonel Gadaffi's visit? Are you in France or Libya? Please send us your comments by using the form below.
